I wouldn't stress out about it. You have to come up with a plan that you can stick with for the rest of your life. The premise behind eating in the am, is so that you have something to kick start your metabolism and to prevent overindulging at your next meal. If you feel like you are doing okay balancing your calories the rest of the day, then just eat what you can for breakfast. I workout a little each morning, so I am super hungry afterward. I usually get up at 6 workout until 630 and then have something light around 700-730 on my way to work- I then finish the rest of my breakfast around 930. I don't usually have more than 200 calories before lunch time (except on weekends).

why are you suppose to? if you dont want to eat dont. ^ lol at the kick start metabolism comment from above.meal timing and frequency is largely a function of personal preference and is irrelevant in terms of metabolism.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” —Aristotle"It's not a diet, it's not exercise, it's a lifestyle." -Unknown

The premise behind eating first thing in the morning is to break the "fast". Say you eat dinner at 6 and don't eat again until lunch the following day ....think how long your body thinks you are fasting. No wonder it goes into starvation mode....making it very difficult to lose weight. Instead of losing fat you are losing muscle. If you want to successfully lose weight (in the form of fat) you should eat 4-6 smaller meals each day. I highly recommend Venuto's book...Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.....you'll learn alot and i found it to be one of the most motivating books on fat loss. It doesn't promote any one type of diet either

You don't not go in "starvation" mode that quickly - sorry no evidence to prove such. People fast all the time for various reasons - medical, spiritual, cleansing... Your body is not going to hold onto fat and you are not going to lose muscle if you skip breakfast. There are plenty of thin, muscular people out there that do not eat breakfast and they are doing just fine. Meal timing is not as important as what you are eating on a regular basis over time.

Pretty sure with Atkins eating breakfast is mostly about keeping ones blood sugar levels stable. Anyway, I've never liked to eat breakfast and at first I had to force myself. I feel so much better now that I eat three meals a day and sometimes snacks in between. I actually wake up and look forward to breakfast now. I do eat bacon and eggs, but if you don't like eggs - find another protein and something with some fat that will keep you feeling satisfied throughout the morning. I've done the shakes a few times, but whenever I drink those my weight loss stalls (I get kicked right out of ketosis.) If you're following the newest Atkins version, then you might add some greens or other vegetables. Good luck and just take it one step at a time.

I've posted this before - and I do agree with it. I have done this every morning through my entire weight loss journey, and had awesome results all the way. I highly recommend it to anyone who cares to listen. When it comes to kick starting your metabolism, I do believe that the body "goes to sleep" when you go to sleep, and that it does "wake up" when you eat the first time. The Neanderthal part of the brain (the one that takes care of our basic needs) likes to see that we have food to eat before it starts burning the reserves that it has available. It makes sense to me. Whether you want to eat breakfast or not, whether people laugh at comments about kick starting metabolisms, that's really their derogatory, all I can say is that I have had great experience losing weight this way. Also, it has prevented me from getting too hungry and thus prevented me going overboard at lunch and dinner, or getting too much into bad things during my day. I'm sure this discussion has been had here many times. I'm sure everyone has an opinion. If you ask me, I'd tell you that eating breakfast is a matter of habit, and you'll get used to it sooner than you think, especially if you find foods that you like, and that you should keep them high on protein to make them really make a difference. Just sayin'...

"Losing weight is never about eating as little as possible"- Kingkeld."You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.― Eleanor Roosevelt"Do. Or do not. There is no trying."- Master Yoda.

I went from morbidly obese to being the owner of TABDIG - a weight loss coaching service that helps people worldwide losing weight. It's been an amazing journey. From October 4th 2010 to April 3rd 2012 I lost half my body weight - 80 kilos/170 lbs. Since then, I have had two cosmetic surgeries to remove excess skin. I have now quadrupled my strength, gained several kilos in muscle mass, and today I focus on building muscle, optimizing my diet, living healthy and helping people to reach the very same goals. I am stronger, healthier, thinner, happier! If you feel that you need help losing weight, don't hesitate to send me an inbox message.

There are just a few that demonstrate that your body does indeed need to "kick start" shall we say. This is not an occasional day where a meal is skipped...if you are consistently skipping the morning meal then your body (the Neanderthal part of the brain as Kingkeld so nicely put it) thinks you may not have a consistent supply of food and will not easily release your fat stores. If someone is trying to lose weight ...not maintain as your example suggests...then they need to start the circadian rhythm of the body and research does show that starts with breakfast not later meals in the day. It is well established in the literature that those who are successful at losing weight and keeping it off eat....Kingkeld's article is just one of them...thanks Kingkeld

btw....my PhD is in Biochemistry.....the study of metabolism essentially. So what you want to believe is up to you but skim the literature first before making negative comments about someone else's post.

I have been doing atkins for about 5 weeks and I also hate eating breakfast but i have blood sugar problems and so I had to force myself to eat something before work. I first ate just a boiled egg maybe a piece of bacon, then I got into the habit and now usually eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, when I have missed breakfast I feel really lousy before lunch so i agree with what others have said that we really need to jump start our metabolism in the morning. One morning I had a leftover pork chop and it was fabulous for breakfast. Nobody says you have to eat breakfast food for breakfast.I also agree we should eat something every few hours, it not only helps with metabolism it also helps keep our blood sugar level. Good luck!

"Losing weight is never about eating as little as possible"- Kingkeld."You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.― Eleanor Roosevelt"Do. Or do not. There is no trying."- Master Yoda.

I went from morbidly obese to being the owner of TABDIG - a weight loss coaching service that helps people worldwide losing weight. It's been an amazing journey. From October 4th 2010 to April 3rd 2012 I lost half my body weight - 80 kilos/170 lbs. Since then, I have had two cosmetic surgeries to remove excess skin. I have now quadrupled my strength, gained several kilos in muscle mass, and today I focus on building muscle, optimizing my diet, living healthy and helping people to reach the very same goals. I am stronger, healthier, thinner, happier! If you feel that you need help losing weight, don't hesitate to send me an inbox message.

Too much misinformation in here, sorry. You burn calories all day. A meal does not "kickstart" your metabolism. Many bodybuilders follow a 16 hour fast 8 hour feeding window to help them lose fat. I don't eat until about 11pm even though I wake up at 4pm. It is an amazing tactic to help cutting calories. Search Martin Berkhan.

You do burn calories digesting meals but it is directly affected by total calories consumed, not how many times a day you eat.

The premise behind eating first thing in the morning is to break the "fast". Say you eat dinner at 6 and don't eat again until lunch the following day ....think how long your body thinks you are fasting. No wonder it goes into starvation mode....making it very difficult to lose weight. Instead of losing fat you are losing muscle. If you want to successfully lose weight (in the form of fat) you should eat 4-6 smaller meals each day. I highly recommend Venuto's book...Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.....you'll learn alot and i found it to be one of the most motivating books on fat loss. It doesn't promote any one type of diet either

Negative. Myth. Your body will oxidize fat over muscle. You will not go catabolic for at least 24 hours of not eating, usually longer.

why are you suppose to? if you dont want to eat dont. ^ lol at the kick start metabolism comment from above.meal timing and frequency is largely a function of personal preference and is irrelevant in terms of metabolism.

Diablo360x you are also spouting some misinformation as well. A 25 year old study is not proof of anything. More recent research has refuted that claim. If you are a body-builder...great...most folks in this forum are not. Those with a metabolism issue in the sense that they want to LOSE weight and have plateaued for example do have a sluggish metabolism. You are right about caloric and nutrient intake though.

In addition...my own twin brother is a body-builder and personal trainer and he gets cut by not letting his body go more than 3 hours without eating protein combined with the right carbs and fat. He also follows the the "Eat like a KING in the morning, a Prince at lunch and a Pauper in the evening". Start big and bring your calories down because your body does not burn fat as well at night as it does in the day. It works and 95% of his clients get great results.

You may be blessed with a great body-type but not everyone is blessed. He and I are both "endomorph" body types and have to work with our metabolisms to see results.

"Losing weight is never about eating as little as possible"- Kingkeld."You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.― Eleanor Roosevelt"Do. Or do not. There is no trying."- Master Yoda.

I went from morbidly obese to being the owner of TABDIG - a weight loss coaching service that helps people worldwide losing weight. It's been an amazing journey. From October 4th 2010 to April 3rd 2012 I lost half my body weight - 80 kilos/170 lbs. Since then, I have had two cosmetic surgeries to remove excess skin. I have now quadrupled my strength, gained several kilos in muscle mass, and today I focus on building muscle, optimizing my diet, living healthy and helping people to reach the very same goals. I am stronger, healthier, thinner, happier! If you feel that you need help losing weight, don't hesitate to send me an inbox message.

Diablo360x you are also spouting some misinformation as well. A 25 year old study is not proof of anything. More recent research has refuted that claim. If you are a body-builder...great...most folks in this forum are not. Those with a metabolism issue in the sense that they want to LOSE weight and have plateaued for example do have a sluggish metabolism. You are right about caloric and nutrient intake though.

In addition...my own twin brother is a body-builder and personal trainer and he gets cut by not letting his body go more than 3 hours without eating protein combined with the right carbs and fat. He also follows the the "Eat like a KING in the morning, a Prince at lunch and a Pauper in the evening". Start big and bring your calories down because your body does not burn fat as well at night as it does in the day. It works and 95% of his clients get great results.

You may be blessed with a great body-type but not everyone is blessed. He and I are both "endomorph" body types and have to work with our metabolisms to see results.

Everything you think you know as fact is outdated. These myths will still provide results, but they just make the trip harder. You're not special. There are some with slightly faster or slower metabolism. This does not make one metabolize food differently. Eating many small meals is great if that is what you prefer but it has zero benefit, if anything it is a handicap for most as worrying about eating every 3 hours is a nightmare in some lifestyles. Being a bodybuilder does not make my goals any different than an obese person. I have lost 35 lbs. of fat since 01/18/12. I am not trying to gain weight at this time. I eat whatever I want, whenever I want, because guess what? It does not matter when or what you eat given the same macronutrient and calorie breakdown. Healthwise, it does matter but as far as weight loss is concerned, macros are macros and calories are calories.

I come from the nutrition forums on bodybuilding.com. The real info comes from the gurus on this hugely popular message board. I am very passionate about this subject and read all new scientific research daily. Bodybuilders goals are to get lean which is the goal of most dieters out there.

I am here to help. This news is life changing. I used to follow all of the myths out there. Now that I know better my life has changed for the better. Eating clean, eating 6 meals a day, cutting carbs later in the day, etc, were all things I used to do. Now that I do not worry about any of that, I have made the best progress yet. All of these myths simply created obstacles that would drive me to binge or fall off the wagon. I now eat 2-3 times per day, eat donuts before bed, fast, etc. Life is so much easier. If you search you will find many peer reviewed scientific studies that debunk these myths. leangains.com and this amazing article, that set me free, so to speak. http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319